ITV Midsomer Murders sparks mass 'switch off' as fans blast 'woke' and 'box ticking' storyline: 'How to ruin a British classic!'

Of course, before long, someone wound up dead. In the instalment, one victim was a character named Lois who was branded a "Karen" for her opposition to the drag queen extravaganza.

The script gave Lois plenty of anti-PC buzzwords to hammer home the cultural debate, such as "woman face" and branding drag queens as a "man's idea of women at their worst".

There was also the introduction of female drag queen Evelyn, who delivered the quote: "I identify as a cis-gender woman and it’s my right as a woman to do drag."

Ophelia Crotchett, the drag alter-ego of the character Malik (Felix Kai), led most of the PC dialogue, delivering buzzword after buzzword to DCI John Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix).

There was even the suggestion DS Winter may engage in a drag competition in the not-so-distant future.

Within minutes of the episode kicking off, which set the stage for the drag queen contest and shoehorned an electric vehicle into proceedings, fans took to social media with their fury.

One fan fumed on X: "Ought to be the title of this episode in the dictionary under the word 'woke'. Racing to the bottom indeed. Still works as a whodunit though. #midsomermurders."

"Oh God!!! #Midsomer has gone full on #woke!! Sad sad sad. #MidsomerMurders @ITV," a second echoed before a third weighed in: "What a load of box ticking b******s #midsomermurders has become. Switched off. Is there any show on TV that doesn’t contain this woke c**p?"

Hope everyone enjoyed Midsomer Murders tonight it was such an honour to be part of it and a huge surprise to be featured in the title sequence of an episode. The cast and crew were absolutely gorgeous to work with a dream gig. 🥰 pic.twitter.com/z7k9VEVsBA

— Bunny Galore (@BunnyGalore) November 10, 2024

A fourth argued: "How to ruin a British classic #MidsomerMurders. Why have you employed diversity writers and woke a*******s in production. It's dire preachy s***e. OFF."

"#midsomermurders is utter s***e," a fifth echoed. "Woke tokenism in overdrive. Put this sorry show out of its misery now. Dressed to kill."

And another pleaded: "#midsomermurders What has happened? Wooden amateur acting, woke agenda and terrible storyline. It’s just awful. Bring back John Nettles!!"

However, others were quick to defend the ITV drama, with one hitting back at the outrage: "People losing it because Midsomer Murders had a storyline involving Drag.

"'It's too far fetched', 'it's not as good as it was' you mean when they had death by wheel of cheese & a storyline involving incest? Also, FFS, look up the word 'woke' before using it #MidsomerMurders." (sic)

Fans will be waiting a while before they get to see the next instalment of Midsomer Murder -s and whether DS Winter will venture into the world of drag - as the show heads for yet another hiatus.

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First UK showing of #MidsomerMurders “Dressed To Kill” tonight on ITV.
Featuring the brilliant @felixemilkai
Lots of fun and feather boas
(and a few murders) https://t.co/drbOS5NK7j pic.twitter.com/9BEld1o2e0

— Fiona Dolman (@FionaDolman) November 10, 2024

In the meantime, rumours have emerged as to who may replace Dudgeon in the leading role should he step down anytime soon.

And one actor has emerged above the rest to take on the role after achieving global success on a hit BBC crime drama.